Recaps

Cheng Tian learned that he had been selected for a year-long, semi-military Pokémon training camp in the South China Sea, and his parents reluctantly agreed to let him go. On February 13, he and the other selected students set off for the airport, where Teacher Zhou warned them that the camp used an elimination system.

• Cheng Tian saw that he and the other three members of Group Three had been selected, while Song Rongxue had declined a school spot because her Gym Leader father had secured her a place as one of the coaches’ children.
• Cheng Tian’s mother objected to his being away for a year, but his father argued for the opportunity, and Cheng Tian’s wish to attend persuaded her to agree.
• In the group chat, Song Rongxue explained that her father’s selection as a coach had secured her a training camp spot.
• On February 13, Cheng Tian, his three teammates, Song Rongxue, and two unfamiliar students gathered outside Bingzhou No. 1 High School and prepared to leave with their teachers.
• Teacher Zhou took the students by taxi to the airport and told Cheng Tian that the camp used periodic eliminations; Bai Yun vowed that they would complete the training.

Cheng Tian and the other students traveled from Bingzhou to Qiongya to attend the National Youth Training Camp. At the barracks, they met their head instructor, Xiong Weidong, who warned them that they would face demanding trials.

• Cheng Tian flew to Qiongya with Teacher Zhou and discussed the yearlong training camp with him during the flight.
• Teacher Zhou led the seven students from Bingzhou No. 1 High School to the barracks, where staff checked their IDs before letting them enter.
• Cheng Tian held Su Han's hand as the students gathered with 3,800 newcomers on the training ground.
• A level 57 Braviary landed before the crowd, and its Keen Eye Ability made the students feel intense pressure.
• Xiong Weidong introduced himself as head instructor and warned the newcomers that they would have to pass the trials and endure a packed year of training.

Xiong Weidong led the trainees to the coast, then stopped their patrol boats short of the National Youth Training Camp island and ordered them to reach it on their own. With half an hour before the boats returned, Cheng Tian devised a plan to get his group across using Song Rongxue’s Carvanha and their Pokémon.

• Xiong Weidong marched the trainees from the barracks to the shore and gave them fifteen minutes to board patrol boats, prompting Cheng Tian and his classmates to hurry aboard.
• After about twenty minutes at sea, Xiong Weidong halted the boats and announced that trainees had to make their own way to the island or return to Qiongya.
• Cheng Tian and his group realized their Pokémon could not carry everyone across, while Song Rongxue revealed that she had a Carvanha prepared for the training camp.
• Cheng Tian asked everyone to release their Pokémon and prepare ranged moves, then proposed using Carvanha’s keen sense of smell to help the group reach the island.

Cheng Tian and his companions lured a Goldeen school into an ambush, caught the leader, and forced it to guide them across the sea. After capturing and harnessing the Goldeen, they prepared to set off in a rubber dinghy.

• A Carvanha wounded the Goldeen leader’s mate and drew the leader and its school into a chase toward the surface.
• Cheng Tian’s group attacked the Goldeen leader as it leaped from the water, and Bai Yun caught it in a Poké Ball.
• Frogadier used Steam Water Pulse, and Cheng Tian explained how he combined Fire-type Hidden Power with Frogadier’s water to inflict burns.
• The rest of the Goldeen school surfaced and was caught in the ambush.
• Cheng Tian threatened to keep the Goldeen leader trapped unless it guided them, and the leader reluctantly agreed.
• The group took ropes and a rubber dinghy from the patrol boat, attached the caught Goldeen to the ropes, and prepared to board.

Cheng Tian and his classmates traveled by dinghy to Training Island, rescuing Yu Fei along the way. After landing, they reunited with familiar trainees from other Bingzhou schools and prepared to work together at the camp.

• Cheng Tian and the others used a group of Goldeen to tow their dinghy toward Training Island while trainees from other boats spotted them.
• Su Han heard Yu Fei calling for help, and Cheng Tian's group rescued him after his exhausted Quagsire tipped over and left him struggling in the sea.
• Cheng Tian's group reached Training Island and released the Goldeen, whose leader spat water over Cheng Tian before leaving.
• Wen Zhe, Chen Tao, Chen Yiyi, and Huang Zequan arrived on a dinghy pulled by Gyarados and greeted Cheng Tian and the others.
• Wen Zhe and Cheng Tian agreed that the Bingzhou trainees should help one another, while Huang Zequan asked Cheng Tian to spar with him again.
• Huang Zequan delivered Su Han's father's warning to keep warm and avoid bad boys, and Su Han replied that she already had a boyfriend.

Cheng Tian and the other trainees reached the Training Camp, passing through dangerous Pokémon colonies before being assigned to dorms. Cheng Tian, Bai Yun, and Yu Fei met their fourth roommate, Shen Gun, whose fortune-telling ended with an unexpected warning about Yu Fei’s health.

• Su Han told Huang Zequan that Cheng Tian was her boyfriend, and Cheng Tian happily patted her head.
• Xiong Weidong led the trainees through the forest, where Braviary kept aggressive Pokémon colonies at bay.
• The trainees reached the Training Camp, and Xiong Weidong divided them into groups to run to their dorms behind Zangoose and Braviary.
• Cheng Tian, Bai Yun, Yu Fei, and Shen Gun were assigned to room 0304.
• Shen Gun examined his new roommates and predicted success for Cheng Tian and Bai Yun, then told Yu Fei to lose weight to avoid high blood pressure.

Cheng Tian and his roommates settled into their dorm, chose their training directions, and learned the demanding schedule for the training camp. At dinner, they met Su Han and the others and discussed how specialization could separate them into different classes.

• Cheng Tian, Bai Yun, Yu Fei, and Shen Gun settled into their dorm and each filled out a form choosing a training direction; only Shen Gun chose Specialization.
• The teacher collected their forms and directed them to the dining hall, where the students would begin following the posted schedule the next day.
• Bai Yun spotted Steel-type Elite Four member Yang Yonggang eating in the dining hall, and Shen Gun reminded the others to eat before approaching him.
• Su Han, Lin Lin, and Song Rongxue joined Cheng Tian and his roommates for dinner, and Lin Lin raised concerns that different training directions would mean separate classes.
• Su Han considered choosing Mixed Team to stay with Cheng Tian, but Cheng Tian encouraged her to specialize in Fairy-types, and she reluctantly agreed.

After settling into the Training Camp dormitory, Cheng Tian and the others introduced their Pokémon to one another and went to bed after the head coach announced that training would start the next day. The following morning, a blaring military-style song woke Cheng Tian, who dreaded hearing it again.

• On the way back to the dormitory, Cheng Tian and the others discussed whether the Training Camp could invite every Elite Four member.
• Cheng Tian noticed that Shen Gun's Alakazam could walk using its own legs despite its psychic abilities, suggesting unusual physical strength.
• Bai Yun scanned a QR code to join the Training Camp group chat, where the head coach announced that regular training would begin the next day.
• Cheng Tian and the others let their Pokémon socialize, then turned in after Xiong Weidong ordered lights out.
• Cheng Tian woke to a loudspeaker blaring a military-style song and complained that it was a song of suffering.

Cheng Tian and the other students began their first day at the training base with a grueling morning run led by Xiong Weidong. After finding the lower cafeteria floors packed, Cheng Tian accidentally entered the staff dining hall, where Xiong Weidong let him stay and eat.

• Xiong Weidong ordered the boys to follow Braviary on a morning run while he pursued them on Rapidash with Mightyena.
• Bai Yun spotted Lin Lin during the run, and Su Han and Cheng Tian caught Lin Lin and Bai Yun when they stumbled.
• Braviary led the boys around the training base for over an hour, after which Xiong Weidong announced that daily morning exercises would continue and classes would meet in different locations.
• Bai Yun went ahead to the cafeteria while Cheng Tian stopped at the restroom, then found the first and second floors too crowded to enter.
• Cheng Tian entered the third-floor dining hall by mistake and found Xiong Weidong, Yang Yonggang, and other staff eating there.
• Xiong Weidong learned why Cheng Tian had come upstairs and told him to stay and eat on the third floor.

Cheng Tian encountered Ghost-type Elite Four member Wen Xu and Dragon-type Elite Four member Long Weixi at breakfast before hurrying to class. He arrived late to find Wen Xu waiting at the lectern to teach his theory lesson.

• Cheng Tian paid for Wen Xu's breakfast after she froze at the cafeteria counter, then recognized her from the Bingzhou Rookie Tournament.
• Wen Xu noticed Cheng Tian had nowhere to sit and joined Long Weixi's table, prompting Long Weixi to move and sit with Cheng Tian instead.
• Cheng Tian received his timetable from Su Han and rushed to Theory Class Seven in Teaching Building No. 5.
• Cheng Tian arrived after the bell and found Wen Xu teaching the silent classroom as its instructor.

Wen Xu let her Gengar teach the class while she sat beside Cheng Tian and played a game. Gengar’s extensive skills and carefully prepared lesson won over the students, who listened attentively.

• Wen Xu plunged the classroom into darkness with her Gengar and then sat beside Cheng Tian as Gengar took her place at the lectern.
• Cheng Tian inspected Gengar’s information panel and was astonished by the Elite Four Pokémon’s level and wide range of moves.
• Gengar accidentally opened an inappropriate study file before switching to his prepared presentation.
• Gengar used five doubles to teach students about using status moves, while Wen Xu leaned against one of them and played her game.
• Cheng Tian and the other students settled into the lesson and came to appreciate Gengar’s teaching.

Cheng Tian and his classmates attended morning lessons taught by Elite Four members, then compared what they had learned over lunch. After returning to the dorm, the students let their Pokémon stay out and play there while they attended classes.

• Gengar taught Cheng Tian's class while Wen Xu lounged on Gengar's body, and Cheng Tian later chatted with Shen Gun in the corridor.
• Cheng Tian, Bai Yun, Lin Lin, and Su Han shared what their classes had covered, including Long Weixi's Dragon-type lessons for the Fairy-type students.
• Long Weixi complained to Granny Du about teaching Fairy types, while Yang Yonggang and the others teased her.
• The students returned to the dorm, fed their Pokémon, and agreed to let them stay there during regular classes.
• Bai Yun looked forward to the next day's battle training.

Cheng Tian and the other trainees began practical battle lessons with powerful coaches, including Elite Four members. He learned that his elderly coach, Du Qiaoxin, had been the renowned Poison-type Elite Four member forty-eight years ago.

• Cheng Tian reflected on the demanding lessons and went to sleep while Shen Gun continued meditating with Alakazam.
• Xiong Weidong led the trainees through their morning run and announced practical battle training at the grounds.
• Cheng Tian ate breakfast with Su Han and the others, then joined the trainees at the vast training stadium.
• Xiong Weidong introduced the coaches, and the trainees checked their assignments, which included several Elite Four members.
• Cheng Tian met his coach, Granny Du, and agreed with Chen Tao to battle when they had a chance.
• Du Qiaoxin warned her trainees to follow her instructions and avoid making her angry, and Chen Tao identified her as the Poison-type Elite Four member from forty-eight years ago.

Granny Du challenged the group to test how well they understood their Pokémon, then demonstrated how her Gulpin’s refined toxins could harm Cheng Tian’s Aron despite its Steel typing. After Aron lost, Granny Du urged the young trainers to keep developing their own and their Pokémon’s potential.

• Granny Du invited the group to challenge her level 20 Gulpin, then picked Cheng Tian after noticing his hand move toward his Poké Ball.
• Cheng Tian sent out Aron and used Rock Tomb, but Gulpin escaped by corroding the rocks.
• Gulpin evaded Aron’s attacks and used its corrosive poison to damage Aron through its Steel armor.
• Gulpin used Clear Smog to erase Aron’s Defense boosts, then trapped Aron and defeated it with Water Pulse and Poison Jab.
• Granny Du explained that she had refined Gulpin’s toxins until they could corrode Steel-type Pokémon, and told the group to keep developing their own and their Pokémon’s potential.

Cheng Tian battled Chen Tao to test their Pokémon’s progress and gained a chance to see his new Steam Mode in action. After Frogadier defeated Wartortle, Chen Tao sent out Gyarados, but Coach Xiong Weidong stopped the battle and made him switch to Starmie before they could continue.

• Granny Du told Cheng Tian that developing a Pokémon meant adapting its existing body and left him to figure out how to apply the idea.
• Cheng Tian accepted Chen Tao’s offer to battle with two Pokémon each, and Frogadier faced Chen Tao’s Wartortle.
• Frogadier used Steam Mode and close-range Steam Water Pulse to burn and defeat Wartortle inside their merged Whirlpools.
• Chen Tao sent out Gyarados for the second round, but Coach Xiong Weidong ordered him to switch to a smaller Pokémon so they would not disturb the others.
• Chen Tao recalled Gyarados and sent out Starmie, allowing the battle to continue.

Cheng Tian defeated Chen Tao’s Starmie with Floette, prompting Granny Du to praise his underhanded tactics and urge her students to fight just as dirty. She sent Cheng Tian and Chen Tao to observe coaches’ lessons, after asking Cheng Tian to repeat his name.

• Granny Du returned to the training area and learned that Cheng Tian and Chen Tao were battling.
• Cheng Tian used Floette’s Copycat, Safeguard, and Wish to counter Chen Tao’s Starmie and restore Floette’s stamina.
• Floette defeated Starmie with Fairy Wind and Razor Leaf, raising Cheng Tian’s ranking.
• Granny Du approved of Cheng Tian’s tactics and told her students to use any methods necessary to win their battles.
• Granny Du suggested Cheng Tian and Chen Tao sit in on coaches’ lessons, then asked Cheng Tian his name before letting him go.

Cheng Tian watched Bai Yun lose to the Rock-type Elite Four member, who criticized Bai Yun for collecting moves instead of training Rockruff properly. He then saw Su Han’s team defeated in one attack by Long Weixi’s enraged Drampa.

• Chen Tao headed to Nalu’s field while Cheng Tian went looking for Bai Yun and found him battling the Rock-type Elite Four member.
• Bai Yun’s Rockruff used Thrash uncontrollably, and the coach had Armaldo knock it out after Thrash ended and Rockruff became confused.
• The Rock-type Elite Four member told Bai Yun to focus on mastering moves and training seriously, and Cheng Tian and Lin Lin offered to help him.
• Cheng Tian went to the eastern field, where Su Han was battling Long Weixi with Vulpix, Sylveon, and Togepi against her Drampa.
• Long Weixi’s Drampa activated Anger Point and knocked out all three of Su Han’s Pokémon with Flamethrower.

Cheng Tian asked Granny Du for help developing Aron and was introduced to the Steel-type Elite Four member Yang Yonggang. Yang brought Cheng Tian to his underground Gravity Training Room, where Cheng Tian began asking how to replace Aron's armor with a better metal.

• At lunch, Yu Fei told Bai Yun and Lin Lin that a Dark-type instructor's Pangoro had defeated nearly everyone's Pokémon, while Senior Sister Song's Pancham remained unharmed.
• Cheng Tian considered changing the material of Aron's armor to address its vulnerability to corrosion and the weight slowing Aron down.
• After afternoon team battles, Cheng Tian's Pokémon all gained levels, and Noibat learned Double Team; Cheng Tian won a three-on-three battle against Chen Yiyi.
• Cheng Tian visited Granny Du to ask about developing Aron, and she agreed to introduce him to Yang Yonggang.
• Yang Yonggang took Cheng Tian underground to his Gravity Training Room, where Cheng Tian asked for help replacing Aron's ordinary metal armor with a higher-performance metal.

Yang Yonggang explained how Cheng Tian could help Aron replace its armor and showed him the special training room and his powerful Aggron. He gave Cheng Tian a tungsten-steel Metal Coat to help Aron strengthen its armor, leaving Cheng Tian with a new path to develop his Pokémon.

• Yang Yonggang told Cheng Tian that changing Aron's diet could replace its armor, but the process would take more than ten years.
• Yang Yonggang had Cheng Tian wear a weighted chain-mail suit and led him into the gravity training room, where they could move without the added weight.
• Yang Yonggang released his level 65 Aggron, and Cheng Tian introduced Aron to the Pokémon it admired.
• Aron struggled against the gravity, used Hidden Power to raise its head, and earned Aggron's approval for its determination.
• Yang Yonggang gave Cheng Tian a special tungsten-steel Metal Coat and instructed him to spread it over Aron's body and wear down its armor in battles so it could absorb the material.

The trainees began a multi-day survival exercise in the outer forest, where they had to earn points by completing missions while avoiding dangerous Pokémon. Cheng Tian’s group accepted three missions and entered the forest with their Pokémon scouting and guarding them.

• Xiong Weidong announced that the trainees would collect their supplies and assemble for a survival exercise in the outer forest.
• Song Rongxue told Cheng Tian’s group that they would likely be out for two or three days, so they bought Repels, Potions, and tents.
• Xiong Weidong distributed tracking and distress devices and explained that the trainees would remain in the forest until Sunday, with staff ready to respond to emergencies.
• Long Weixi explained that the bottom hundred trainees on the monthly points leaderboard would be eliminated, and Cheng Tian’s group accepted missions to collect Beedrill honey, Nincada husks, and three Stantler antlers.
• Cheng Tian and his companions entered the forest and sent their Pokémon to scout from the air, ahead, and underground while the others guarded the group.

Cheng Tian's group hunted a Seviper and reached a clearing to set up camp, only to be driven away by a hostile group led by Yellow-Haired Guy. They left rather than risk a fight, continuing their search for a place to camp.

• Cheng Tian's group attacked Seviper while she ate a Spearow, and their coordinated moves defeated her.
• The group battled several Pokémon on the way and reached a flat clearing where three tents were already set up.
• Yellow-Haired Guy refused to let Cheng Tian's group camp there and told the men to leave while inviting the girls to stay.
• Bai Yun challenged Yellow-Haired Guy, but Shen Gun urged the group to conserve their strength for the task.
• Cheng Tian's group left the clearing as Yellow-Haired Guy and his companions mocked them.

Cheng Tian and his companions drove a large colony of Zubat and Golbat out of a cave and defeated them so they could use it as a campsite. After Noibat protected Cheng Tian from a level 29 Golbat and was badly hurt, Togepi healed it, and the group prepared to enter the cleared cave.

• Cheng Tian and his companions found a cave occupied by Zubat and Golbat, and Cheng Tian proposed using smoke and fire to drive them out.
• Cheng Tian's group filled the cave with Smokescreen, then Bai Yun had Monferno use Flamethrower to agitate the Pokémon inside.
• Su Han, Shen Gun, and the others used their Pokémon to defeat dozens of Zubat and Golbat as they fled the cave.
• A level 29 Golbat ambushed Cheng Tian, and Noibat took its bite and retaliated with Hidden Power before Vulpix froze the Golbat.
• Su Han had Togepi use Life Dew to heal Noibat, and Shen Gun began moving the defeated Pokémon while the others prepared to inspect the cave.

Cheng Tian and his companions cleaned a cave to use as a temporary base, then Cheng Tian and Shen Gun scouted the nearby Beedrill colony. They discovered the colony was heavily populated and returned to plan a cautious approach to the honey-gathering mission.

• Bai Yun burned the Zubat droppings, and Cheng Tian and Frogadier washed the cave clean while the others prepared lunch.
• Shen Gun told the group he had dumped the captured Zubat into a stream occupied by Basculin.
• Cheng Tian and Shen Gun scouted the Beedrill colony and saw many Weedle and cocoons among the trees.
• Alakazam detected movement, and a blond trainer and his companions fled past with more than thirty Beedrill pursuing them.
• Cheng Tian and Shen Gun returned to the cleaned cave, where Cheng Tian warned the group that a frontal assault on the colony would be too dangerous.

A sudden torrential rain flooded Training Island and forced Cheng Tian and his companions to shelter in a cave, where Alakazam used Secret Power to create a temporary safe space. When its psychic power ran low, they emerged to find two Stantler sheltering in the cave, leaving Cheng Tian excited by their unexpected arrival.

• Dark clouds gathered over the South China Sea, and torrential rain began pouring across Training Island despite the Sunny Day team’s efforts to clear the sky.
• Xiong Weidong ordered the wilderness survival exercise to continue and told personnel to monitor distress signals and dangerous Pokémon.
• Rainwater flooded the cave where Cheng Tian, Lin Lin, Bai Yun, Song Rongxue, Shen Gun, and Yu Fei had taken shelter, so Alakazam used Secret Power to open a hidden space in the wall.
• Inside the secret space, Cheng Tian told the group he had a plan to obtain honey despite the Beedrill, while other trainees were rescued from rain-related dangers and lost their mission points.
• As Alakazam’s psychic power ran low, the group left the secret space and found two Stantler sheltering in the flooded cave.

Cheng Tian and his group captured two Stantler using Vulpix as a lure, collected their shed antlers, and prepared for their next mission. After repairing their rain-soaked cave and resting, they gathered near the Beedrill colony and began their operation.

• Vulpix disguised as a wounded Stantler to lure two adult Stantler into the cave, where Alakazam and Sylveon knocked them unconscious.
• Shen Gun removed the Stantler's antlers without injuring them and released the pair, completing one mission.
• Cheng Tian and the others dug drainage channels around the cave and settled in for the night, with Shen Gun keeping watch.
• Cheng Tian and Su Han shared a quiet moment before falling asleep.
• The next morning, Cheng Tian coated Aron's armor with Metal Coat, and the group prepared to enter the Beedrill colony's territory.